When you get divorced and you were the primary earner in the household, you may be looking at making rehabilitative alimony payments to your spouse. These are payments that will help him or her to obtain the necessary training or education that can lead to a career. Unlike some forms of spousal support, this isn't a payment that will carry on indefinitely. Ensure that your divorce attorney can get your spouse's attorney to agree to a specific term that both parties feel is reasonable. This could be payments for six months, one year, two years, or any period that works for you both. Here are some reasons that choosing a specific term is a good choice.

It Encourages Your Spouse To Take Action

If you're making payments to your spouse so that he or she can go back to school to prepare for a new career, but the payments will carry on indefinitely, your spouse doesn't exactly have much incentive to enroll. Instead, he or she may simply enjoy collecting these payments and not doing anything with them. However, if your spouse knows that the payments will come to an end on a specific date whether he or she has a new career lined up or not, this can be a major incentive to use the money wisely.

It Doesn't Burden You Unnecessarily

While you might be paying spousal support beyond the rehabilitative alimony that you agree to, no one wants to make regular payments and suspect that the party receiving them isn't using them appropriately. It would be frustrating for you to pay your spouse to go back to school year after year, only to have him or her fail to enroll. When you agree to a specific term for rehabilitative alimony, you can find satisfaction in knowing that these payments will eventually end and you'll have more money in your own pocket.

It Won't Likely Be Subject To Inflation

Alimony payments can be subject to inflation over time. For example, if you've made alimony payments for a period of years, your spouse may hire an attorney and campaign to have the payments increased a certain percentage to reflect inflation. This is a frustrating situation for you, but it's not one that you're apt to face when you agree to a short term of rehabilitative alimony. Because this type of payment will cut off rather than go on indefinitely, it's unlikely that your spouse would seek an increase due to inflation.

For more help, speak to a local divorce law attorney.